ELM FAMILY 



great size, or because of some great event occurring beneath 

 their branches. For example, the Washington Elm in Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, is so called 

 because beneath its shade Gen- 

 eral Washington is said to have 

 first drawn his sword, on taking 

 command of the American army. 

 The famous treaty of William 

 Penn with the Indians was made 

 beneath the branches of an enor- 

 mous elm, which remained stand- 

 ing in the suburbs of Philadel- 



White Elm, Ulmus amcricctiia. Satnar- , ■ . -i o i ■ <. 



phia untu iSio, when it was 



as \i' long. ^ ' 



blown down. Its site is marked 

 by a marble column and its age was estimated to be two 

 hundred and thirty-three years. 



SLIPPERY ELM. RED ELM 



UlmiLS pnbt'scms — Ulvnis ftllva. 



Fiilva, reddish yellow, refers to the color of the wood. Picbescens, 

 downy. Slippery characterizes the inner bark. 



Common. Sixty to seventy feet in height, trunk sometimes two 

 feet in diameter and spreading branches which form a broad, open, 

 flat-topped head. Prefers banks of, streams and fertile hillsides; 

 roots fibrous. Ranges from St. Lawrence River to Florida and 

 throughout the entire Mississippi valley. 



Bark.—V)^xV. brown tinged with red. divided by shallow fissures, 

 and covered with large loose plates. Branchlets stout, bright green, 

 later light brown, finally dark gray or brown. 



Wood. — Dark brown or red ; heavy, hard, close-grained, strong, 

 tough, durable in contact with the soil, and easy to split while green. 

 When boiled or steamed it becomes very fle.xible. Used for fence 

 posts, railway ties, sills of buildings, agricultural impleinents. Sp. 

 gr., 0.6956 ; weight of cu. ft., 43.35 lbs. 



Winter Buds. — Leaf-buds ovate, rather obtuse, one-fourth of an 

 inch long, covered with tawny hairs. Flower-buds larger than leaf- 

 buds. Inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot and become 

 green, obtuse, hairy, the innermost serve as stipules for a time. 



240 



